In view of modern farming techniques, it is desirable to use machinery for planting and harvesting of crops in order to reduce the amount of man power needed to farm a parcel of land. Thus, the use of machinery allows more land to be farmed while using less man power. The sophistication of these farming machines allows a single person to plant acres of crops in a short period of time. Likewise, the farming machines allow a single person to harvest acres of crops in a short period of time. However, the use of these farming machines is efficient and economical only when the machine is capable of harvesting the crops while causing minimal damage to the crops.
For example, cucumbers are difficult to harvest due to the cucumbers being attached to vines. In addition, the harvesting of cucumbers are difficult due to the varying size of the cucumbers which are attached to the vines. Thus, as the cucumbers are harvested, the vines get tangled upon itself and other vines, which makes it difficult for the cucumbers to be detached from the vines. Also, as the vines get tangled upon the harvester machine, which makes it difficult for the cucumbers to become detached from the vine and causes damage to the cucumbers.
One known harvester is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,993 to Butler et al. This device used a pinch bar assembly to move the cucumbers from the ground to the conveyor.
It is desirable to develop a harvester which is capable of harvesting crops with long vines and prevent tangling of the vines or detangle the vines in order to prevent damage to the desirable portions of the crops. Thus, it is desirable to have a harvester which stretches the vines, which causes the vines to detangle and prevents the vines from tangling upon the harvester. Once the vines are stretched and detangled, the desirable portion of the crops, such as a cucumber, is easily detached from the vines no matter the size of the cucumber.